A common material currently used in the packaging industry is corrugated paper products typically referred to as corrugated cardboard or simply "cardboard." In one basic form, the corrugated board is comprised of two layers of flat paper between which is inlaid a layer of corrugated or "fluted" paper. The resulting product is a composite laminated structure which is far sturdier than the materials from which it is formed.
In some typical applications, the boards which eventually form rectangular boxes are manufactured as flat pairs of board portions held together by a thin paper web. It is common practice to form the thin paper web by subjecting the boards to a cutting or scoring operation. After the die cutting operation, the board pairs remain mutually attached in sheets by the thin web connecting each portion of the board. The sheets of corrugated board are then conventionally stacked in quantities of up to one hundred or more. Eventually, however, the stacked portions have to be separated so that individual sheets can be folded to form individual boxes.
Conventional separators employ a conveying system which delivers the stacked paired boards to a press device. Upon delivery to the press device, a conventional separator then applies separate forces perpendicular to the plane of the stacked pairs to each respective portion of the stacked die cut boards wherein each respective press is positioned directly above each respective half of the stacked pairs. The stacked pairs are separated along the thin paper web connecting each portion when one press secures one half of the stacked pairs in a stationary position and the other press moves in a direction parallel to the underlying conveying rollers or belts.
As an alternative to the above-described pulling method for separation, conventional systems also utilize vibratory forces created by the rapid shifting of counterplate assemblies securing one portion of the stacked pairs away from the other portion secured by a separate press means. The amount of force, however, necessary to hold one half of the stacked pairs stationary while simultaneously shifting away from or pulling against every web in the stack in the other half tends to tear and damage the stacked boards.
It is also known in the industry to use pneumatically operated, hand held chisels or wedging tools to separate the boards along the thin paper web connecting the stacked portions. However, these methods tend to damage an unacceptable number of boards. Further, it is known to use cutting blades to separate the stacked pairs along the thin paper web; however, this method is labor intensive as it requires constant monitoring and adjustment.